Retaining device for personal vehicle with handlebars

ABSTRACT

The retaining device is designed to be fitted into the end of the handlebar of a personal vehicle such as a bicycle, a motorcycle, an all terrain vehicle, or a personal watercraft. The device has a shackle, a cable, or a spring loaded lever which extends out of the distal end of the handlebar whereby it can be used to retain such items as a motorcycle helmet or a flotation vest. The retaining device can optionally include a lock, which can be either a combination lock or a keyed lock. Advantageously, the retaining device is substantially fitted wholly within the handlebar of the vehicle when it is not being used. In various embodiments a cable can be used, and a cap, which is adapted to fit over said retaining device, can be attached to the distal end of the cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for retaining items to ahandlebar of a personal vehicle, or, alternatively, for retaining ahandlebar to some other item. In particular, the invention relates to adevice which is particularly suitable for holding a motorcycle helmet tothe handlebar of a motorcycle, or, alternatively, for “locking” amotorcycle to a fixed item, to prevent it from being moved. Theinvention can also be used with other personal vehicles which usehandlebars. Accordingly, it may be used with bicycles, all terrainvehicles, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft.

Many types of personal vehicles, including bicycles, motorcycles, allterrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft have handlebarswhich are used for steering. As is well known, most handlebars areformed of a tubular metal member, the ends of which typically have someform of “grip” affixed to them. Typical handlebar grips are made of arelatively resilient material, such as rubber or plastic, they aretypically formed to be substantially cylindrical, and they are typicallysubstantially closed at their distal ends.

Well known problems with such personal vehicles include the fact thatthey are prone to theft due to their relatively small size andrelatively light weight, and they are not typically equipped withlockable storage space for such items as are typically used with them,including helmets, in the case of bicycles, all terrain vehicles, andsnowmobiles, and flotation vests, in the case of personal watercraft.

In view of the foregoing problems, it is not uncommon for bicycle andmotorcycle riders to carry with them some form of chain or cable, alongwith padlocks. Alternatively they often carry so-called “bicycle locks”,which generally have a tubular locking device attached to a cable. Infact, the prior art shows numerous types of motorcycle and bicyclelocks, which range in design from the basic padlock having an elongatedU-shaped shackle, of which U.S. Pat. No. Des. -430,787 entitledMOTORCYLE AND BICYCLE LOCK, which issued on Sep. 12, 2000 to T. K. Liu,illustrates an ornamental, but typical, design.

Problems with these elongated padlocks, is that they, too, need to bestored and carried when the vehicle is in use. Accordingly, a variety ofbrackets have been devised simply to carry the locks. By way of example,U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,386 entitled BICYCLE LOCK MOUNTING BRACKET whichissued on Aug. 1, 2000 to L. Kuo illustrates one such mounting bracketwhich attaches to the frame of a bicycle, and which is used to carry abicycle lock. Another form of bicycle lock bracket is illustrated inU.S. Pat. No. 5,647,520 entitled BICYCLE LOCK BRACKET WITH SPLINES whichissued on Jul. 15, 1997 to C. McDaid.

An illustrative cable type bicycle lock is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des.-390,771 entitled BICYCLE LOCK which issued on Feb. 17, 1998 to F. B.Egger.

Problems with the foregoing locks include the fact that they get in theway of the normal operation of a bicycle, and they are not adapted to beused on other types of personal vehicles which have handlebars. In orderto get around the first of these problems, devices such as thatdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,663 entitled COMBINATION BICYCLELOCK/HANDLEBAR ASSEMBLY, which issued on Oct. 11, 1994 to R. N.Samuelson, have been developed which enable the use of a bicycle lock asan auxiliary handlebar. A similar device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No.5,138,901 entitled BICYCLE LOCK MOUNTING BRACKET which issued on Aug.18, 1992 to A. N. Dabandjian, et al.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,464, entitled BICYCLE LOCK WITH STORABLE REELCABLE, which issued on Oct. 12, 1993 to R. Halter, a cylindrical devicefor retractably storing the cable of a bicycle lock is described. Whilethis device can be used with a bicycle (provided that there issufficient room beneath the bicycle's seat and the frame), it is notadapted for use with other personal vehicles which use handlebars.

In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a device which can beintegrated into the design of a personal vehicle which steers usinghandlebars, and which can be used to either hold objects, such ashelmets, jackets, riding apparel, and/or flotation vests, as well as tolock the personal vehicle to a fixed object as a theft deterrent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a retainer device which is integrated into atubular handlebar of a personal vehicle. The invention can be used tohold helmets, jackets, riding apparel, flotation vests, or similaritems, and, in various embodiments, it can be used to lock the vehicleto a fixed object to deter theft of the vehicle.

The invention is a retainer device for a personal vehicle of the typewhich uses handlebars for steering. It is comprised of means forconnecting the retainer device to the distal end of a handlebar of thepersonal vehicle. In addition, the invention includes some form ofextendable means attached to the retainer device. The extendable meanscan be extended outward from an outer face of the retainer device,whereby an item can be affixed to the extendable means.

As explained hereinafter, the extendable means can be a lever, ashackle, or a cable, and the retainer device can include a lock, such asa combination lock or, alternatively, a keyed lock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective end view of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective end view of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention in the fully open position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective end view of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention in a partially locked position;

FIG. 4 is cross-sectional side view illustrating the manner in which theinvention is mounted in the distal end of a handlebar;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective end view of another embodiment of theinvention in which a keyed lock is used;

FIG. 6 is a perspective end view of yet another embodiment of theinvention in which a cable is used without a shackle, and in which thecable is fully retracted within the handlebar;

FIG. 7 is a perspective end view of the embodiment of the inventionshown in FIG. 6 in which the cable is shown to be extended and locked;

FIG. 8 is a perspective end view of still another embodiment of theinvention which includes a spring-loaded bar lock; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 inwhich the spring-loaded bar lock is shown in its open position.

FIG. 10 is a perspective end view of the yet another embodiment of theinvention which includes a spring-loaded lever; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 inwhich the spring loaded-lever is shown in its extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIG. 1, a perspective side view of a first embodimentof the handlebar retaining device 10 of the present invention is shown.As shown in FIG. 1, the retaining device 10 of the preferred embodimentincludes a combination lock 12. The combination lock 12 which isillustrated includes four rotating dials 14, 16, 18, 20, which be set toany desired combination, as will be explained hereinafter. As will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the number of dials used in thecombination lock 12, can be greater, or less, than four, although threeor four are typical numbers. Alternatively, the combination lock 12 canbe replaced by a keyed lock 72 for enhanced security, as shown in FIG.5.

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, the retaining device 10 is fitted to thedistal end 22 of a handlebar 24 of a personal vehicle, such as abicycle, a motorcycle, an all terrain vehicle, or a personal watercraft. The handlebars of such vehicles are typically formed of hollow,substantially cylindrical members, which typically have handgrips (notshown) over their distal ends. The retaining device 10 includes anexpandable hub 26 (See, FIG. 4) which fits into the opening at thedistal end 22 of the handlebar 24. The expandable hub 26 can be made ofa relatively hard rubber or a suitable plastic material, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, as it is known to use suchexpandable hubs to attach handgrips, vibration dampeners, and otheritems, to handlebars of personal vehicles of the type described. Withparticular reference to FIG. 4, the expandable hub 26 has a cylindricalhole 28 bored through its length. A screw 30, extends through an opening32 formed through the outer face 34 of the retaining device 10. A flatwasher 36 is retained on the screw 30 by a nut 38 which is threaded ontothe end of the screw 30. By turning the head 40 of the screw 30, theflat washer 36 is compressed against the expandable hub 26, whereby thehub 26 expands against the inside wall 42 of the handlebar 24, therebyaffixing the hub 26 in position within the handlebar 24, and therebyalso affixing the rest of the retaining device 10 to the end of thehandlebar 24.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3, the first locking embodiment 10of the retaining device includes a shackle 44, having a fixed leg 46 anda releasable leg 48. When the shackle 44 is fully depressed, as shown inFIG. 1, the center portion 50 of the shackle 44 preferably overlays thehead 40 of the screw 30, preventing access to the head 40 of the screw30. When the combination lock 12 is unlocked, by dialing in theappropriate combination, e.g., “2357”, as shown, the shackle 44 can bepulled away from the outer face 34 of the retaining device 10, until thereleasable leg 48 completely exits an opening 52 formed in the outerface 34 of the retaining device 10 (See, FIG. 2), thereby leaving aspace between the distal end 56 of the releasable leg 48 and the opening52. As will be understood by those familiar with shackle locks, theportion of the fixed leg 46 which extends through opening 54 includesratcheting means which allow the releasable leg 48 of the shackle 44 tobe inserted into the opening 52, and locked down as desired. Thus, ifthe shackle 44 is used to retain a helmet (not shown) to a bicycle, ajacket (or other riding apparel) to a motorcycle, or a flotation vest(not shown) to a personal watercraft, the shackle 44 can be pressed intothe opening 52 far enough to prevent someone from having access to thehead 40 of the screw 30, in order to prevent them from simply looseningthe screw 30 which would release the tension provided by the hub 26, andallow the entire retaining device 10 to be removed from the handlebar24.

Those familiar with dial type combination locks will realize that anadvantage of such locks is that their combination may be set, asdesired, by a user. Typically, to set the combination, one would openthe shackle 44, and then rotate it 180 degrees around the fixed leg 46,which allows the dials of the combination lock 12 to be moved, therebychanging the combination to that which the user chooses, rather than thefactory preset value (typically “0000”, in the case of a four-dialcombination lock).

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the retaining device 10 canoptionally include a cable 60, which is preferably retractable andspring-loaded, and which extends out of an opening 62 formed in theouter face 34 of the retaining device 10. Alternatively, an end of thecable 60 could be affixed to the outer face 34 of the retaining device10. Affixing the end of the cable 60 to the outer face 34 of theretaining device 10 is particularly beneficial in those instances inwhich the handlebar is not hollow, or in which it is hollow but hasobstructions therein. In the event the handlebar is not hollow, thescrew 30 would be threaded into a tapped opening on the distal end ofthe handlebar.

As shown, the cable 60 is preferably attached to the inside of a cap 64which can be screwed or snapped onto the retaining device 10, when notin use, thereby protecting the combination lock 12 and the shackle 44from the elements. In use, the shackle 44 is opened using thecombination lock 12, and the cable 60 is extended out of the opening 62.In addition to having the cap 64 for protection, another benefit of thisembodiment is that the cable 60 can be relatively long, so that it canbe threaded through a jacket sleeve (not shown), for example. Then, withthe jacket on one side of the shackle 44, and the cap 64 on the oppositeside, the shackle 44 can be closed and locked to prevent the cap 64 frombeing pulled through the shackle 44, thereby securing the jacket to theretaining device 10. Alternatively, the cable 60 can be secured to, oraround, a fixed object, such as a pole (for bicycles, or motorcycles), apier (for personal water craft), or even a tree (for bicycles,motorcycles, snow mobiles, or all terrain vehicles), to deter theft ofthe vehicle. While either a retractable or fixed cable 60 can be used,those skilled in the art will recognize that a retractable,spring-loaded cable 60, preferably one which retracts and ratchets intothe opening 62 would be most desirable.

Using this embodiment, it is also possible to lock something to thevehicle by hanging it from the loop 66 in the cable 60. By way ofexample, personal water craft are often used in conjunction with, andstored on, large boats. As such boats are often diesel powered, whenfuel is needed for the personal water craft, it is generally driven to a“fuel dock” where gasoline is available. In addition, some fuel may bestored in a container, such as a plastic fuel container. This embodimentprovides a way to secure the personal water craft to a dock using thecable 60, which can also be threaded through the handle of the fuelcontainer while the rider goes ashore to visit a store, or havesomething to eat, without the rider having to leave the fuel containerloose, or to have to carry it with him.

With reference to FIG. 5, another alternative embodiment 70, of thepresent invention is shown. In this embodiment 70, a keyed lock 72 isused to replace the combination lock 12 of the first embodiment 10.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, yet another embodiment 80 of theinvention is shown. In this embodiment 80, a cylindrical, dial-typecombination cable lock 82 is used, along with a spring-loaded,retractable cable 84 (See, FIG. 7). The cable 84 is attached to one end86 of the cable lock 82. The end 86 can be pulled out of the retainerdevice 80, as shown in FIG. 7, and it can be used to hold items, or,alternatively, to lock the vehicle to a fixed item, such as the pole ofa street sign or a parking meter, as described above.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, yet another embodiment 90 of theinvention is shown. In this embodiment 90, a cylindrical, dial-typecombination lock 92 is used, along with a spring-loaded bar 94. When thelock 92 (which could be replaced by a keyed lock) is unlocked, the end96 of the bar 94 pops out of an opening 98 in the outer face 34 of theretainer device (See, FIG. 9) 90, leaving a space 100 for threading acable 102, which is attached to a cap 104. To lock this embodiment, theend 96 of the bar 94 is pushed in, locking it into place, as shown inFIG. 8.

Finally, while the earlier described embodiments of the retainer deviceof the present invention included some type of locking device, thepresent invention also contemplates the use of a non-locking retainerdevice 110, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, which illustrates a retainerdevice 110 comprised of a spring-loaded arm 112, which is hinged at itslower end 114. As shown in FIG. 10, this allows the arm 112 to be swungout forming a “V” shaped retainer hook which is particularly suitablefor holding a helmet (for use with a motorcycle, bicycle, or all terrainvehicle) or a flotation vest (for use with a personal watercraft). Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that while motorcycle helmets areoften simply hung from the handlebar of the motorcycle, some motorcycledesigns preclude the use of the handlebars for holding helmets as theyhave rear-view mirrors integrated into their designs. Also, the brakeand clutch levers (not shown) are typically sloped downward, which meansthat if one attempts to hang a helmet from them there is a likelihoodthat the helmet will slide down, and fall off.

While a number of variations of the present invention have beendescribed, other variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart, and all such variations are intended to be included within thescope of the present invention. Thus, it is possible to use cables, asshown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7-9 along with keyed locks, as shown in FIG. 5,without departing from the present invention. Also, if a cable is used,it may be attached to either a cap, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 8, and 9, orto the outer face of the retainer device, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Aswill be obvious, numerous other variations can be made, withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention.

We claim:
 1. A retainer device for a personal vehicle of the type whichuses handlebars for steering, comprising: (a) means for connecting saidretainer device to the distal end of a handlebar of said personalvehicle which comprises an expandable hub having a screw extendingtherethrough; and (b) extendable means attached to said retainer devicewhich can be extended outward from an outer face of said retainer deviceand which comprises a lever which can be flipped out of said retainerdevice whereby an item can be affixed to said extendable means.
 2. Theretainer device of claim 1, wherein said lever is spring loaded, wherebyit will retract into said retainer device when there is nothing holdingit out of said retainer device.
 3. A retainer device for a personalvehicle of the type which uses handlebars for steering, comprising: (a)means for connecting said retainer device to the distal end of ahandlebar of said personal vehicle; and (b) extendable locking meansattached to said retainer device, which can be selectively extendedoutward from an outer face of said retainer device or locked to saidouter face of said retainer device; (c) a cable having a fixed endattached to said retainer device and a distal end attached to a capadapted to fit over said retainer device, whereby said cable can be usedto attach an item to said retainer device and said extendable means isadapted to be secured around said cable with whereby said cap will be onone side of said extendable means and said item will be on the otherside of said extendable means.